Tic disorder

• You’re lying in bed, trying to fall asleep but the racing thoughts won’t stop.
• Instead, your brain is busy making detailed plans for the next day, replaying embarrassing moments (“why did I say that?”), or producing seemingly random thoughts (“where is my birth certificate?”).
• Does what we think about before bed influence how we sleep?

How you think in bed affects how you sleep

• It turns out people who sleep well and those who sleep poorly have different kinds of thoughts before bed.
• Good sleepers report experiencing mostly visual sensory images as they drift to sleep – seeing people and objects, and having dream-like experiences.
• People with insomnia are also more likely to stress about sleep as they’re trying to sleep, leading to a vicious cycle; putting effort into sleep actually wakes you up more.
• The researchers found higher levels of binge viewing were associated with poorer sleep quality, more fatigue, and increased insomnia symptoms.

What is cognitive refocusing?

• Cognitive refocusing, developed by US psychology researcher Les Gellis, involves distracting yourself with pleasant thoughts before bed.
• Pick an engaging cognitive task with enough scope and breadth to maintain your interest and attention – without causing emotional or physical arousal.
• One study of people with insomnia found those who tried cognitive refocusing had significant improvements in insomnia symptoms compared to a control group.

How ancient wisdom can help us sleep

• Meditation practice can increase our self-awareness and make us more aware of our thoughts.
• Mindfulness training can help us recognise when we’re getting into a rumination spiral and allow us to sit back, almost like a passive observer.
• It may also help people with psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia get more sleep.

What can help ease your pre-sleep thoughts?

• Have a consistent bedtime, reduce technology use in the evening, and do regular exercise during the day.
• Pick a “fake scenario” that will hold your attention but not be too scary or exciting.




Read more:
Why do we wake around 3am and dwell on our fears and shortcomings?

Melinda Jackson receives funding from NHMRC, Brain Foundation and Dementia Australia.

• But we have discovered that déjà vu is actually a window into the workings of our memory system.
• Our research found that the phenomenon arises when the part of the brain which detects familiarity de-synchronises with reality.
• Déjà vu is the signal which alerts you to this weirdness: it is a type of “fact checking” for the memory system.
• The opposite of déjà vu is “jamais vu”, when something you know to be familiar feels unreal or novel in some way.

Simple set up

• If you just ask someone to repeat something over and over, they often find it becomes meaningless and confusing.
• In a first experiment, 94 undergraduates spent their time repeatedly writing the same word.
• They did it with twelve different words which ranged from the commonplace, such as “door”, to less common, such as “sward”.
• This time, 55% of people stopped writing for reasons consistent with our definition of jamais vu (but after 27 repetitions).

Deeper insights

• Jamais vu is a signal to you that something has become too automatic, too fluent, too repetitive.
• It helps us “snap out” of our current processing, and the feeling of unreality is in fact a reality check.
• Hopefully our work on jamais vu will inspire more research and even greater insights in the near future.
• He gratefully acknowledges the support of the IUF in his research into déjà vu and jamais vu.

• Have you walked in the door only to feel overloaded by scattered papers, unwashed dishes and clothes in disarray?
• Maybe you’ve even had arguments because it bothers you more than it bothers you partner or housemates.
• Many people report a messy house can trigger feelings of stress and anxiety.

Cognitive overload

• While some people might be better than others at ignoring distractions, distractable environments can overload our cognitive capabilities and memory.
• Clutter, disorder and mess can affect more than just our cognitive resources.

Are women more affected than men?

• Research suggests the detrimental effects of mess and clutter may be more pronounced in women than in men.
• One study of 60 dual-income couples found women living in cluttered and stressful homes had higher levels of cortisol (a hormone associated with stress) and heightened depression symptoms.
• They also suggested the social aspect of the study (which involved giving home tours) may have induced more fear of judgement among women than men.

Not all mess is a problem

• Real homes don’t look like the ones in magazines.
• Living in constant disorder isn’t productive, but striving for perfectionism in cleanliness can also be counterproductive.

Mess makes me anxious so what can I do about it?

• If the clutter is primarily caused by other household members, try to calmly discuss with them how this mess is affecting your mental health.
• Mess doesn’t define whether you are a “good” or “bad” person and, at times, it may even stimulate your creativity.
• Remind yourself that you deserve success, meaningful relationships and happiness, whether or not your office, home or car is a mess.
• Read more:
  Men do see the mess – they just aren't judged for it the way women are

• Season two of the series Heartstopper on Netflix brings out an issue that is often hidden – male eating disorders.
• Centred on two teenage boys in love, the show helps bust the common perception that eating disorders are only seen in girls and women.
• In one episode of the series, based on a series of graphic novels, Nick asks Charlie about his eating because he is becoming worried about him.

A range of disorders

• Body dissatisfaction comes from not liking one’s size, shape and weight and leads some boys and men down the dangerous path to an eating disorder.
• An eating disorder is an unhealthy relationship with one’s body and eating and includes such disorders as anorexia nervosa (fear of weight gain and deprivation of food), bulimia nervosa (which typically involves eating large amounts and then purging) and binge-eating disorder.

What drives it

• Seeing one’s own body as inferior in comparison can lead to attempts to change it.
• Other factors involved in the development of an eating disorder can be parental or peer teasing about appearance, especially about weight.
• Poor self esteem, a need for control (as articulated by Heartstopper character Charlie), experiencing sexual trauma and identity disturbance are also drivers.

Dangerous methods

• Boys and men may engage in dieting and other weight-loss methods to try and change or control their body.
• Some may even turn to drugs to try and alter their body.

Getting help early

• Early intervention is the key to fostering a positive body image and self-esteem in young males.
• Early intervention is backed by evidence but help often comes too late.
• People who get help early, particularly in their adolescent years when eating disorders often first start, have a good success rate with the right treating team.
• If you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder getting help fast is important before the eating disorder really takes hold.
• Education about and becoming more aware of this issue and knowing how to get help is critical.